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Every fact on this site in one list, each linked to its source. Our build stores the source text and checks that the key words and figures in each fact really appear in it; see the sources page.

  1. 1 The US National Park Service calls the Amphicar the only civilian amphibious passenger car ever to be mass produced, built in Germany from 1961 to 1968. National Park Service
  2. 2 The owners’ club gives total production as 3,878, with 3,046 imported into the United States between 1961 and 1967. IAOC history
  3. 3 It had a rear-mounted four-cylinder engine from the British Triumph Herald, rated at 43 horsepower. IAOC history
  4. 4 In the water it was driven by two nylon propellers, and the front wheels worked as rudders. IAOC history
  5. 5 All Amphicars were convertibles, first offered in four colours: Beach Sand White, Regatta Red, Lagoon Blue and Fjord Green. IAOC history
  6. 6 The club’s history page says the name ‘Model 770’ came from a top speed of 7 mph on water and 70 mph on land. IAOC history
  7. 7 It was designed by the German engineer Hans Trippel, who had been building amphibious vehicles since the 1930s. Hagerty UK
  8. 8 Der Spiegel says the Amphicar came out of Trippel’s partnership with the industrialist Harald Quandt, and was built in Berlin and Lübeck. Der Spiegel, 2009
  9. 9 No 1968-model Amphicars were imported directly into the USA, because of new EPA and Department of Transportation rules for 1968 models. With the US taking about 90 per cent of sales, that was a financial disaster for the company. IAOC history
  10. 10 The Berlin factory closed for good in 1968, and the leftover parts were bought by Hugh Gordon of Santa Fe Springs, California, whose Gordon Imports still supplies owners. IAOC history
  11. 11 The owners’ club estimates that about 2,000 Amphicars still exist in some state, and repeats an owners’ guess that about 600 still swim. IAOC FAQ
  12. 12 Trippel was born in 1908 in Groß-Umstadt in Hesse, the son of a department store owner, and taught himself engineering. TECHNOSEUM
  13. 13 At 24 he borrowed 500 marks from his father, bought an old DKW and rebuilt it as his first floating car, the Land-Wasser-Zepp. TECHNOSEUM
  14. 14 On a test run in December 1934 the Zepp sank and Trippel had to swim back to the bank; three days later it was running again. TECHNOSEUM
  15. 15 Trippel had been a member of the Nazi party since 1930; in October 1936 he showed his vehicle to Hitler and received a 10,000 Reichsmark development grant. TECHNOSEUM
  16. 16 Der Spiegel notes that he was also a member of the SA, and that in 1938 he drove his SG6 amphibian to Naples and crossed by water to Capri. Der Spiegel, 2009
  17. 17 In January 1941 the Trippel-Werke were set up in the former Bugatti works at Molsheim in Alsace, where more than 1,000 vehicles were built by 1945, along with aerial torpedoes and other arms. TECHNOSEUM
  18. 18 In 1947 a French court sentenced him, as a wartime armaments manager, to five years in prison; he was pardoned after three. TECHNOSEUM
  19. 19 His wartime amphibians were made in far smaller numbers than Volkswagen’s Type 166 Schwimmwagen. Hagerty, 2016
  20. 20 More than 14,000 VW Schwimmwagen were built for the military, according to Der Spiegel. Der Spiegel, 2006
  21. 21 The TECHNOSEUM says Trippel built the prototype ‘Alligator’, from which the Amphicar was derived, in 1957. TECHNOSEUM
  22. 22 Hagerty UK says the prototype, called the Eurocar Alligator, was first shown at the 1959 Geneva show with a 948cc Austin A35 engine of 34 bhp. Hagerty UK
  23. 23 Der Spiegel’s 2006 account says the Quandt family, which also had a stake in BMW, came in after the Alligator was shown. Der Spiegel, 2006
  24. 24 Within months the new Triumph Herald arrived with a 39 bhp, 1147cc engine, and Trippel saw it as the compact, cheap and tough power he wanted. Hagerty UK
  25. 25 A German engine of the right kind was too expensive, according to Edle Oldtimer, so the Herald’s four-cylinder was chosen. Edle Oldtimer
  26. 26 Hagerty UK says Trippel persuaded the West German government that the car was a big export opportunity, and that millions of marks of public money went into its development. Hagerty UK
  27. 27 Hemmings simply calls it ‘backed by the German government’. Hemmings
  28. 28 Hagerty’s 2016 profile says IWKA, part of the Quandt group that had rescued BMW in the 1950s, began making the Amphicar in 1961, aimed mainly at North America. Hagerty, 2016
  29. 29 Hagerty’s price guide says some estimates put the money behind the project as high as $25 million. Hagerty price guide
  30. 30 The owners’ club says the cars were assembled in Lübeck and later Berlin by Industrie-Werke Karlsruhe (IWK), a subsidiary of DWM, the post-war name of the firm that once made the Luger pistol. IAOC FAQ
  31. 31 A US company, the Amphicar Corporation of America, was set up to sell it. IAOC FAQ
  32. 32 Production began in 1961 at IWK’s works in Lübeck-Schlutup and in Berlin-Borsigwalde, and every car’s tub-shaped body was tested for leaks before delivery. Edle Oldtimer
  33. 33 From autumn 1962, because of state subsidies for West Berlin, assembly was concentrated at the DWM works in Berlin-Borsigwalde, with bodies still coming from Lübeck. Edle Oldtimer
  34. 34 The Berlin-Brandenburg business archive says the cars were built in the old Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken halls on the Eichborndamm in Wittenau, where the archive itself is now housed. Berlin-Brandenburg business archive
  35. 35 The same archive dates production to 1960 to 1963. Berlin-Brandenburg business archive
  36. 36 The Martin Auto Museum says the bodies came from Italy, with assembly in Berlin and Lübeck; we found no other source that says so. Martin Auto Museum
  37. 37 Edle Oldtimer says a pre-production car was shown at the New York motor show as early as 1960 to test the American market. Edle Oldtimer
  38. 38 Hagerty’s price guide says the car first surfaced at the 1959 German motor show and came ashore in the US on 1 April 1961, at the New York Auto Show. Hagerty price guide
  39. 39 The makers planned at least 25,000 cars, mostly for the American market. Der Spiegel, 2006
  40. 40 Hagerty UK says the hope was to build 20,000 a year. Hagerty UK
  41. 41 The owners’ club puts the plan at ‘something like 30,000’, against just under 4,000 sold. IAOC FAQ
  42. 42 In Germany it cost 10,500 marks at first and, from April 1963, 8,385 marks; in the US it was first offered at $3,395. Edle Oldtimer
  43. 43 That was about the price of two Volkswagen Beetles. TECHNOSEUM
  44. 44 Hagerty’s price guide says the US price of $3,395 came down to $2,695 in 1964, about what a new Mustang convertible cost. Hagerty price guide
  45. 45 Hagerty’s 2016 profile says instead that the price rose from $2,800 to $3,200 by the end of sales, nearly double a Beetle. Hagerty, 2016
  46. 46 The owners’ club says new cars sold for $2,800 to $3,300 depending on the year, and that later years cost less than early ones. IAOC history
  47. 47 The club’s president told Hagerty that Trippel meant it as an everyday car, and that adverts aimed it at women and showed families picnicking by rivers. Hagerty, 2016
  48. 48 Besides the four colours there was at least one black car, some emerald green ones for the Berlin police, and 50 ivory cars with red tops for Cypress Gardens and the 1964 World’s Fair. IAOC FAQ
  49. 49 Hamburg’s water police ran three Amphicars. Der Spiegel, 2006
  50. 50 A few were built as emergency rescue vehicles, and buyers could order an anchor, flares, paddles, a fire extinguisher and even a shower worked by the bilge pump. IAOC FAQ
  51. 51 Welt am Sonntag called them in 1964 ‘the only civilian land and water cars in the world’. Berlin-Brandenburg business archive
  52. 52 The Lane Motor Museum describes a steel unitary two-door convertible body with electrically welded joints, the engine at the back driving the rear wheels. Lane Motor Museum
  53. 53 Trippel insisted on steel rather than glassfibre, and on extra-thick panels to stand up to waves, which made the car rigid but heavy. Hagerty UK
  54. 54 Edle Oldtimer describes the body as a self-supporting all-steel shell, stiffened with a twin-tube frame, that could be sealed watertight. Edle Oldtimer
  55. 55 The engine sat behind the rear axle and the gearbox ahead of it; on the road it drove the rear wheels. Edle Oldtimer
  56. 56 Barrett-Jackson explains the rear engine as a boat-builder’s choice: it kept the engine’s weight from pulling the nose under. Barrett-Jackson
  57. 57 Edle Oldtimer gives the Herald engine as 1,147 cc, 38.3 PS at 4,750 rpm, with one Solex carburettor and pushrod valves. Edle Oldtimer
  58. 58 Der Spiegel’s 2006 article gives 38 PS and ‘1200 cc’. Der Spiegel, 2006
  59. 59 Its two-part land and water gearbox was built by Hermes, and let the wheels and propellers be driven separately or both at once. IAOC history
  60. 60 The land gearbox had four speeds and reverse, rather like an old Volkswagen Beetle’s; the water gearbox had just one forward and one reverse gear. IAOC history
  61. 61 Edle Oldtimer describes it as a modified four-speed Hermes gearbox with a central gear lever, from the Tempo works of Vidal in Hamburg. Edle Oldtimer
  62. 62 Hagerty describes a power take-off from the four-speed gearbox that turned the twin propellers, forwards or backwards. Hagerty, 2016
  63. 63 The propellers were three-bladed and made of plastic, one either side of the engine. Edle Oldtimer
  64. 64 There were two gear levers on the floor: one for the four-speed land gearbox and one for forwards and reverse on the propellers. IAOC FAQ
  65. 65 Each door had rubber seals that pressed against seals on the frame, and a second handle inside pulled the door tighter shut. IAOC FAQ
  66. 66 The club compares the two door seals to a refrigerator’s, and says separate water locks stopped anyone opening a door afloat. IAOC FAQ
  67. 67 Hemmings describes a two-stage door seal with a second lock at the bottom of the door, a mild-steel welded body, a high-capacity electric bilge pump and waterproof seats. Hemmings
  68. 68 An electric bilge pump pumped out any water that splashed or leaked in. IAOC FAQ
  69. 69 US cars also had a timed bilge blower that cleared fumes from the hull before the engine would start, as US rules required on inboard motorboats. IAOC FAQ
  70. 70 It carried boat navigation lights, and Hemmings says oars and life jackets were optional extras. Hemmings
  71. 71 On the front lid it had a navigation light and a horn; on the rear lid, a white light and a small flag mast. Edle Oldtimer
  72. 72 Hagerty says the US Coast Guard recognised it as a legitimate boat. Hagerty price guide
  73. 73 It floated with about 21 inches of freeboard; the front bumper sat just above the water and the tail a little lower, because of the rear engine. IAOC FAQ
  74. 74 Hagerty says the 21 inches of freeboard were meant to stop a passing speedboat’s wash from swamping it, and that the height needed for that hurt its handling on the road. Hagerty price guide
  75. 75 Its smooth hull and 10 inches of ground clearance made it good in snow, and a low first gear let it climb ramps as steep as 37 per cent. Hemmings
  76. 76 Hagerty UK calls its rear fins the tallest of any production car, and says they were needed to stop water pouring through the engine-lid louvres. Hagerty UK
  77. 77 The Lane Motor Museum says the fins stand one inch higher than a 1959 Cadillac’s. Lane Motor Museum
  78. 78 Der Spiegel adds that the fins kept waves coming from the side out of the engine. Der Spiegel, 2006
  79. 79 The electrics were a Lucas 12-volt positive-earth system, with some parts by Hella and Bosch. IAOC history
  80. 80 Under the rear seat cushion was a plywood board, and under that the engine; owners say it gets hot and vibrates. Der Spiegel, 2006
  81. 81 The anchor, oar and fenders lived in the front boot. Der Spiegel, 2006
  82. 82 Hagerty gives its weight as 2,300 pounds. Hagerty price guide
  83. 83 Edle Oldtimer gives 1,050 kg with oil, water and fuel, and a length of 4,330 mm. Edle Oldtimer
  84. 84 Edle Oldtimer gives the wheelbase as 2,100 mm and the width as 1,565 mm. Edle Oldtimer
  85. 85 The knobs on the dashboard worked the lights, wipers and so on, and none of them was labelled. IAOC FAQ
  86. 86 Because the engine was British, German owners needed imperial-sized tools as well as metric ones. Edle Oldtimer
  87. 87 To go in, you shut the doors, check that the bonnet and the bilge plug are secure, and drive down to the water. IAOC FAQ
  88. 88 Once afloat you put the land gearbox in neutral and engage the propellers with the small second lever. IAOC FAQ
  89. 89 Hemmings says both drives could be used together when landing. Hemmings
  90. 90 Afloat, the brakes do nothing: you stop the way any boat does, by putting the propellers into reverse. IAOC FAQ
  91. 91 Der Spiegel puts it more bluntly: no stamp on the brake pedal, however brave, will stop an Amphicar in the water. Der Spiegel, 2009
  92. 92 Steering afloat is with the front wheels, which made it harder to manoeuvre than a boat. Der Spiegel, 2006
  93. 93 The owners’ club says first-time helmsmen often remark how responsive the steering feels in the water. IAOC FAQ
  94. 94 Der Spiegel’s reporter describes the moment of going in: the nose dips, water washes over the bonnet towards the windscreen, and you lift your feet without meaning to, until the car levels out and floats. Der Spiegel, 2006
  95. 95 The owners’ club FAQ says only that ‘it is said’ the 770 stood for 7 knots (about 8 mph) in the water and 70 mph on land. IAOC FAQ
  96. 96 The same FAQ later gives about 70 mph on land and about 6 knots (7 mph) in the water, ‘in spite of’ what some early adverts claimed. IAOC FAQ
  97. 97 It also says an Amphicar cruises at about 8 to 10 mph, depending on the current: not enough to pull a water skier. IAOC FAQ
  98. 98 Hagerty UK gives the name as 7 knots in the water and 70 mph on land. Hagerty UK
  99. 99 Hemmings also says 7 knots (8 mph), and adds that some sources claimed a top speed as high as 85 mph. Hemmings
  100. 100 Hagerty’s 2016 profile says the name meant 7 mph on water and 70 on the road. Hagerty, 2016
  101. 101 Barrett-Jackson says 7 mph, ‘or 6 knots’, on water and 70 mph on land. Barrett-Jackson
  102. 102 Sky HISTORY says 7 mph in the water and 70 on land, ‘in theory, at least’. Sky HISTORY
  103. 103 The Lane Motor Museum gives about 6½ knots (7 mph) in the water and 68 mph on land, with 70 mph in its specification. Lane Motor Museum
  104. 104 The Science Museum Group gives 70 mph on land and a ‘more leisurely’ 7 mph on water. Science Museum Group
  105. 105 Edle Oldtimer says the 770 meant 7 miles in the water and 70 on the road. Edle Oldtimer
  106. 106 Its own data table gives 113 km/h on the road and 12 km/h in the water. Edle Oldtimer
  107. 107 Der Spiegel in 2006 gave just under 120 km/h on the road and 8 knots on water. Der Spiegel, 2006
  108. 108 Der Spiegel in 2009 gave 105 km/h at most on land and at best 12 km/h in the water. Der Spiegel, 2009
  109. 109 The TECHNOSEUM gives 120 km/h on land and 12 km/h on water. TECHNOSEUM
  110. 110 The Berlin-Brandenburg business archive gives 125 km/h on land and 7 knots in the water. Berlin-Brandenburg business archive
  111. 111 Hagerty’s price guide says the listed top speed was 90 mph but road testers managed only about 65; 0 to 60 mph took 43 seconds, and it cruised at about 10 mph in the water. Hagerty price guide
  112. 112 Car and Driver, as quoted by Hagerty, called the ride billowy and wobbling, the steering vague, and said the brakes ‘required the strength of Hercules’. Hagerty price guide
  113. 113 The owners’ club says most stock Amphicars can still cruise all day at 60 to 65 mph, ‘until they come to a hill’. IAOC FAQ
  114. 114 On land it can do 35 mpg or more; on water it uses about 1 to 1.5 gallons an hour. IAOC FAQ
  115. 115 Owners call it ‘the fastest car on the water and the fastest boat on the road’. Barrett-Jackson
  116. 116 In TIME’s 2007 list of the 50 worst cars, Dan Neil wrote that it was not particularly watertight, and that its flotation depended on whether the bilge pump could keep up with the leaks. TIME
  117. 117 Neil also allowed that it was reasonably agile on land and fairly manoeuvrable on water, if painfully slow. TIME
  118. 118 Der Spiegel says passengers regularly reported water getting in and wet feet. Der Spiegel, 2009
  119. 119 The Berlin-Brandenburg business archive describes the bilge pump as there to pump out the ‘little water’ that usually got in. Berlin-Brandenburg business archive
  120. 120 Can one sink? Yes, says the owners’ club, like any boat that takes on more water than it weighs; but it says that is not common, and that the cars are very seaworthy despite their early bad press. IAOC FAQ
  121. 121 The club’s joke answer to ‘how deep can it go?’ is ‘all the way to the bottom if you forget the bilge plug’. IAOC FAQ
  122. 122 After time in the water, Edle Oldtimer says, thirteen grease nipples had to be refilled. Edle Oldtimer
  123. 123 A Berlin owner told Der Spiegel there are 32 grease nipples, and that they need fresh grease after every five hours in the water. Der Spiegel, 2006
  124. 124 Hemmings says the maker’s routine after each swim included taking out the rear seat and greasing more than a dozen points, and that many owners skipped it. Hemmings
  125. 125 Cars used in salt water tended to rust. Hemmings
  126. 126 Hagerty’s price guide warns that any car used in salt water rusted badly, so a proven history matters. Hagerty price guide
  127. 127 The same Berlin owner blamed American owners who left their cars in the water all summer and found them full of mussels, with the joints rusted solid, by autumn. Der Spiegel, 2006
  128. 128 In Germany a driver needed two licences, one for the road and one for inland waters, and the rules limited where it could be used away from public roads. Edle Oldtimer
  129. 129 Berlin Amphicars carry boat registration numbers; before 1990 they were registered with the shipping directorate in Hannoversch Münden. Der Spiegel, 2006
  130. 130 In July 1965 Die Welt reported a Norwegian tanker, the Acina, meeting an Amphicar on the Elbe at Teufelsbrück. Berlin-Brandenburg business archive
  131. 131 Die Welt also suggested running the bilge pump in a traffic queue if someone was too close behind: a thumb-thick jet of water would land on their bonnet. Berlin-Brandenburg business archive
  132. 132 On a 1978 holiday on the Adriatic, a Berlin owner’s loaded car took a wave into the engine, which stopped; the anchor dragged in the mistral, and the family rowed and motored back through heavy water. Der Spiegel, 2006
  133. 133 The owners’ club says two Amphicars travelled 350 miles down the Yukon in Alaska in 1968. IAOC FAQ
  134. 134 Der Spiegel says two Frenchmen crossed the English Channel in an Amphicar in 1962, in five hours and 50 minutes. Der Spiegel, 2006
  135. 135 It adds that two English cars tried three years later, and that one took in water halfway and had to be towed, the trip taking more than seven hours. Der Spiegel, 2006
  136. 136 The 1965 crews were two army officers, Captain Michael Bailey of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and Captain Peter Tappenden of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, in one car, and Sergeant Joe Minto of the Royal Army Service Corps with the escape artist Timothy Dill-Russell in the other. Transportation History
  137. 137 They drove down a ramp into Dover harbour at 8.50 in the morning and landed north of Calais at 4.30 in the afternoon. Transportation History
  138. 138 Transportation History calls the four men the first people to cross the Channel in cars. Transportation History
  139. 139 One car’s bilge pump clogged with debris, its engine stalled when the electrics flooded, and the other car towed it; the towing car needed refuelling at sea. Hemmings
  140. 140 Hemmings says they made land seven hours and 20 minutes after leaving Dover. Hemmings
  141. 141 Hagerty UK says they set out in force 3 winds that rose to force 6 mid-Channel. Hagerty UK
  142. 142 The owners’ club says the crossing was made in ‘20-foot seas and gale-force winds’. IAOC FAQ
  143. 143 The four men drove on by road and reached the Frankfurt motor show on 17 September 1965. Sky HISTORY
  144. 144 Transportation History gives the road leg to Frankfurt as about 375 miles. Transportation History
  145. 145 Backfire News says the refuel was done by dropping the hood and filling the tank in the nose through a makeshift snorkel, and that a ferry made the crossing in 90 minutes. Backfire News
  146. 146 The 1962 record stood until June 2004, when Richard Branson crossed in a Gibbs Aquada in about 90 minutes. Der Spiegel, 2006
  147. 147 Hagerty UK says one Isle of Wight resident bought an Amphicar to cross to the mainland rather than pay ferry fares. Hagerty UK
  148. 148 TIME noted that during floods in Britain an Amphicar owner used his car as a water taxi, taking water and groceries to stranded schoolchildren. TIME
  149. 149 Hagerty UK says production, which began at the end of 1960, was stopped within three years, but so much stock had been built that the last cars were not built and sold until 1968. Hagerty UK
  150. 150 Der Spiegel’s 2006 article says it was all over by 1964, with 3,500 built. Der Spiegel, 2006
  151. 151 The Americans found it too small, too weak and not comfortable enough. Der Spiegel, 2006
  152. 152 Edle Oldtimer says Americans used to five-metre cruisers simply found it too small. Edle Oldtimer
  153. 153 The TECHNOSEUM adds that it needed a lot of maintenance and its performance was no longer up to date. TECHNOSEUM
  154. 154 The Science Museum Group gives production as 1961 to 1965. Science Museum Group
  155. 155 Old Cars Weekly says the cars left the factory with no year on the VIN plate; the dealer stamped the year when he sold one, so a car built two years earlier could be sold as new. Old Cars Weekly
  156. 156 It says the last cars were probably built in 1965 or 1966, though that cannot be verified, and that a few registered as 1968 models give the ‘last production year’. Old Cars Weekly
  157. 157 Hemmings says the company and its parent, the Quandt group, lost money on every car sold. Hemmings
  158. 158 Edle Oldtimer says the car was always a loss-maker that Harald Quandt tolerated, and that it was ended soon after he died in an air disaster in 1967. Edle Oldtimer
  159. 159 Hagerty UK says US authorities tightened the rules on building and using amphibious cars in 1967, and the Amphicar fell foul of them. Hagerty UK
  160. 160 Sky HISTORY instead blames 1968 emissions standards under the Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Act. Sky HISTORY
  161. 161 Hemmings says that, facing new EPA and Department of Transportation rules for 1968, the company shut down because redesigning a car that lost money made no sense. Hemmings
  162. 162 Barrett-Jackson says the German factory closed for good in 1968. Barrett-Jackson
  163. 163 Hagerty UK says about 90 per cent of the 3,878 were sold in America, and that just 97 were right-hand drive, mostly for Britain. Hagerty UK
  164. 164 Hagerty’s 2016 profile says roughly 3,900 were sold from 1961 to 1968, nearly 80 per cent in North America. Hagerty, 2016
  165. 165 The Lane Motor Museum says 3,046 of the 3,878 went to the US and the rest were sold in Europe. Lane Motor Museum
  166. 166 Hemmings says total production ‘remains somewhat unclear’, but that most sources agree on 3,878 built between 1961 and 1967. Hemmings
  167. 167 Slate gives 3,770 built between 1960 and 1968. Slate
  168. 168 Sky HISTORY says ‘about 3,900’. Sky HISTORY
  169. 169 The owners’ club’s ‘about’ page says ‘approximately 3,900’. IAOC
  170. 170 Edle Oldtimer says only about 3,870 left the factory. Edle Oldtimer
  171. 171 TIME says ‘nearly 4,000’ were built between 1961 and 1968. TIME
  172. 172 Hagerty’s price guide says there were once 71 Amphicar dealers in the US. Hagerty price guide
  173. 173 Gordon Imports bought up the parts stocks decades ago and has also developed improved replacement parts. Hagerty, 2016
  174. 174 Parts are still to be had, the club says, but ‘think Mercedes instead of Volkswagen’; the Triumph engine’s parts are common. IAOC FAQ
  175. 175 Sky HISTORY says enthusiasts estimate that 300 to 600 seaworthy cars remain. Sky HISTORY
  176. 176 In 2016 the club’s president, Mike Clark, guessed there could be 500 left. Hagerty, 2016
  177. 177 Der Spiegel in 2009 put the number still in existence at about 1,000, mostly kept as hobby cars and rarely used. Der Spiegel, 2009
  178. 178 Der Spiegel in 2006 said there might be 80 left in Germany, with a few in the Netherlands and the US. Der Spiegel, 2006
  179. 179 The Amphicar Club Berlin was founded in 1968 with 115 members, who still call each other ‘Sportskameraden’. Der Spiegel, 2006
  180. 180 The International Amphicar Owners Club holds regional and national ‘swim-ins’, where owners meet, talk restoration and take their cars into the water. IAOC
  181. 181 Its national swim-in is held at Celina, Ohio, on Grand Lake St. Marys, during the Celina Lake Festival. Old Cars Weekly
  182. 182 For its 50th anniversary swim-in in 2018 the club hoped for 75 to 100 cars, and needed 72 to claim a Guinness world record for the most Amphicars in one place. Old Cars Weekly
  183. 183 In 2002, 64 Amphicars took turns splashing into the lake at Celina. The Daily Standard
  184. 184 Owners say there have been 911 calls about ‘a man in the water in his car’ for as long as there have been Amphicars. The Daily Standard
  185. 185 In October 2026 Hagerty’s price guide put a 1962 car in good condition at about $63,900. Hagerty price guide
  186. 186 The Science Museum Group holds a 1967 Amphicar, registration KTR 133E, object 1973-408, given by Commander C. A. Coleman. Science Museum Group
  187. 187 The Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, has a 1964 Amphicar 770 in its collection. Lane Motor Museum
  188. 188 The TECHNOSEUM in Mannheim shows a 1968 Amphicar in its car-building section. TECHNOSEUM
  189. 189 Edle Oldtimer has photographed Amphicars at the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin, the PS.Speicher in Einbeck, and museums on Rügen and at Syke-Okel. Edle Oldtimer
  190. 190 Trippel never gave up: in 1989, aged 81, he showed one more amphibious prototype, the Aqua Terra. Der Spiegel, 2006
  191. 191 Inspired by the Amphicar but underwhelmed by it in the water, two Californians designed the WaterCar Panther, a jet-driven amphibian that reaches 46 mph afloat. Hagerty, 2016
  192. 192 Gibbs’s Aquada, a 175 PS roadster, does 160 km/h on land and 50 km/h on water, and cost about 220,000 euros. Der Spiegel, 2006
  193. 193 Hagerty UK lists film and TV appearances including The Sandwich Man, Rotten to the Core and The Avengers. Hagerty UK
  194. 194 President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Amphicar was Lagoon Blue, and he liked surprising unsuspecting guests with it. National Park Service
  195. 195 His aide Joseph A. Califano Jr. recalled riding in the back with a secretary, Vicky McCammon, beside the President: at a steep slope by a lake the car rolled towards the water, and Johnson shouted that the brakes had failed and they were going under. National Park Service
  196. 196 Califano started to climb out before the car levelled and he realised it was an Amphicar; Johnson teased him all evening for trying to save his own skin. National Park Service
  197. 197 The US National Archives dates a photo of Johnson steering his Amphicar into a lake to 11 April 1965, and places it at his ranch in Stonewall, Texas. US National Archives
  198. 198 Lisa Waller Rogers, working from the LBJ Library’s photo record and the President’s daily diary, places that ride on 10 April 1965 at the Haywood Ranch near Kingsland, on what was then Granite Shoals Lake, with Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Paul Glynn aboard. Lisa Waller Rogers
  199. 199 Granite Shoals Lake was renamed Lake LBJ in 1965, at the request of Kingsland’s chamber of commerce. Texas Hill Country
  200. 200 A Texas Hill Country local history says one of Johnson’s favourite jokes was to fake a brake failure and drive guests into Lake LBJ. Texas Hill Country
  201. 201 The ClassicCars.com Journal says it ‘has even been reported’ that he played the trick on cabinet members, without saying where. ClassicCars.com Journal
  202. 202 His car is on display at the LBJ Ranch, now part of the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park. ClassicCars.com Journal
  203. 203 Hagerty says simply that Johnson liked to bob around the lake on his Texas ranch. Hagerty, 2020
  204. 204 Johnson’s ownership did not seem to help sales, Hagerty says. Hagerty, 2016
  205. 205 Amphibious cars are almost as old as the car: Der Spiegel dates the first, the Magrelen Amphibium, to Denmark in 1899. Der Spiegel, 2006
  206. 206 Hagerty and Hemmings both credit Trippel with the gullwing doors of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. Hagerty, 2020
  207. 207 Hemmings calls him ‘the designer of the gullwing doors found on the Mercedes-Benz 300SL’. Hemmings
  208. 208 Backfire News is more cautious, saying he ‘eventually’ contributed to the 300SL’s gullwing doors. Backfire News
  209. 209 Transportation History calls it a two-seater. Transportation History
  210. 210 Hagerty’s price guide calls it a four-seat convertible. Hagerty price guide
  211. 211 Hagerty’s price guide calls the backers ‘the American Quandt Group’. Hagerty price guide